


Love in the Time of Social Distancing

by adlucem



Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Sort Of, Strangers to Lovers, mentions of current events but not super in depth, there's some angst but it's resolved pretty quickly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-21
Updated: 2020-04-21
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:01:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,737
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23765029
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/adlucem/pseuds/adlucem
Summary: “I’m napping, can’t you tell?” The guy responded. His voice was deep, and he spoke like someone who had been asleep recently. Probably because he had apparently been napping. In the middle of the driveway.“On the ground? You’re gonna get ants in your hair.”The guy opened his eyes at that and smiled like he didn’t really expect or want to be seen smiling. “Well, I appreciate your concern for my hair, but I don’t think there are many ants out in Philly this time of year.”
Relationships: Travis Konecny/Nolan Patrick
Comments: 3
Kudos: 157





	Love in the Time of Social Distancing

**Author's Note:**

> This isn't the first thing I've written, but it's definitely the longest.
> 
> No beta we die like men

It was their luck that everything would get shut down almost as soon as they got all their stuff moved into the new house. Travis cursed at whoever ate the stupid bat in the first place as he looked out at the empty cul-de-sac, wishing like hell he was back home. Not that it would make much difference, he’d be just as stuck inside back home as he was here in Philly, but at least he knew where the nearest Wal-Mart was back home.

Chase seemed content to spend his days playing video games or posting thirst traps on tiktok or whatever he was doing in his room all day, but cabin fever set in quickly for Travis. He managed to deal with his boredom for almost a week before he had to get out.

The first day, he went out in the afternoon, wandered the neighborhood a little, and came back well before dinnertime. It wasn’t a long walk, but knowing some of the houses made him feel a bit better. The lost, lonely feeling that had been settled in his chest for weeks was a little easier to ignore. It was hard enough moving to a completely new city, not knowing anybody, but being stuck inside, unable to do anything--look, Travis was an energetic person by nature, quarantine was one of the worst things that could happen to him. They couldn’t even go meet their neighbors or go to a park. It was pure torture.

* * *

  
The next day, his schoolwork kept him inside until after dinner, and he almost considered staying home. It was a little risky, exploring a neighborhood that he barely knew when the sun was up, much less as it got dark out, but he decided to go out anyway. As he stepped out into the cul-de-sac, he noticed a boy lying flat on his back in the neighboring driveway. He didn’t notice as Travis walked closer, or he didn’t care. His eyes were closed. Travis kicked at his foot to get his attention, noting absently that his shoes weren’t tied. “What are you doing? Please don’t be dead,” he said when the guy didn’t open his eyes.

“I’m napping, can’t you tell?” The guy responded. His voice was deep, and he spoke like someone who had been asleep recently. Probably because he had apparently been napping. In the middle of the driveway.

“On the ground? You’re gonna get ants in your hair.”

The guy opened his eyes at that and smiled like he didn’t really expect or want to be seen smiling. “Well, I appreciate your concern for my hair, but I don’t think there are many ants out in Philly this time of year.”

Now it was Travis’s turn to smile. “It’s nice hair. I’d hate to see it get infested.” It was nice, the hair. Dark, almost too long, going well with his pale skin. Now that his eyes were open, Travis could see that they were light, a pretty shade of blue or green, it was impossible to tell in the fading light. When the boy didn’t say anything, Travis spoke again. “My name’s Travis. Most people call me TK. I just moved in next door.”

“Yeah, the moving trucks were a little hard to miss.”

“And your name is?”

The guy sat up, finally, and ruffled his hair with his hand. No ants came out, luckily. “Patty.”

Travis sat down a few feet away from him, just far enough that they could pass it off as social distancing. He had so many questions to ask, but it didn’t seem like Patty was in a questions-answering mood, so he tried to stay as quiet as possible. He fidgeted with the grass, then switched to his own shoelaces. After a few minutes of trying to keep himself occupied, Patty seemed to finally have had enough of his squirming. He reached over and grabbed Travis’ hand. It took everything in Travis not to latch onto his arm or hug him or something. Touch-starvation is a bitch and a half.

“Dude, did you drink coffee or something?”

Travis laughed, hard. “I’ve been trapped with my brother and my parents for weeks. I can barely sit through an hour long class without losing it. This whole thing is hard for me.”  
“Huh.” Patty didn’t let go of his hand, so Travis started messing with his fingers. His hands were very big, he noticed, then immediately tried to un-notice. It would be very bad if he said something weird and scared off the only person his age in the neighborhood. It didn’t matter that this guy was tall, and very pretty, and seemed to be cool with Travis’ general Travis-ness. It was pretty hard to find people like that.

They sat together in relative quiet for a while, before Chase came outside to tell Travis to do the dishes. He said his goodbyes to Patty, then went back in for the night. Things didn’t seem quite so bad, anymore. Even if he hadn’t made a long-lasting friend. It was nice to know somebody.

* * *

  
They ran into each other a few more times over the next several days. Or rather--Travis found ways to casually be outside at the same time. He couldn’t spend much more time with his family, no matter how much he loved them, without losing his mind. He needed interaction. If that meant bothering this frankly very attractive guy that lived next door, well, that was his problem, not Travis’. Patty never seemed to try to avoid Travis, and he never complained about his presence, so Travis took that as an okay to keep bugging him for attention.

Mostly, they hung out in the cul-de-sac, or lying in the grass between their houses. Patty’s bedroom window faced one of the windows in Travis’ room, a fact which Travis was all too happy to abuse. It started with a sign he left in his window saying “hi, pat” with a smiley face under it. The next day, there was a sign in Patty’s window saying “this isn’t a taylor swift music video”, to which Travis replied “OMG you listen to taylor”. Patty’s next sign was simple: “no”.

Travis asked about it the next time they met, lying in the grass again. “You know the ‘You Belong With Me’ music video? I knew you were cultured.”

“I have two sisters,” Patty replied.

“When I was little,” Travis continued, ignoring Patty's excuse, “I always wanted to do that with someone.”

“Put signs in your window?”

“Yeah, but with someone I liked, you know.”

“Sounds sappy,” he said, not unkindly.

Travis smiled and stretched out his arms. “Maybe. I don’t know, I like little romantic things like that.”

“You want to sweep a girl off her feet, then?”

There it was. Travis hesitated before answering, weighing what he knew about Patty and how quickly he could get back to the safety of his house if things went south. Not that he didn’t trust Patty, but, well, it can be hard to guess how people will react. And if Patty reacted badly, he had almost half a foot on Travis and was built like a linebacker. “Maybe I’d like to be the one getting swept off my feet.”

Patty was quiet for a while. Travis chanced a glance over at him, still ready to run if need be, but Patty didn’t seem mad or upset. His face had turned red--Travis would have to bring him some sunscreen tomorrow--but he looked just as impassive as he normally did.

Travis saved him from having to say anything, changing the topic to something easy. They’d talk about it again, some day, if Patty wanted to talk about it. Or who knows, they could go to school in the fall and Patty might pretend they had never met. Whatever happened, Travis tried not to worry about it. He could make new friends, of course, but Patty was cool, and nice, and Travis preferred not to think too hard about the things Patty made him feel. Thinking too hard was dangerous, anyway.

* * *

  
It was still morning, barely, when Travis woke up. When he pulled up the shade on his window overlooking the street, he went from sleepy to wide-the-fuck-awake in an instant. Travis sprinted out his front door to meet Patty, who was on a weird-looking skateboard doing slow, lazy circles around the cul-de-sac. When Patty raised an eyebrow at him, Travis put his hands in his pockets, shuffled his feet, tried to act casual. “Hey, dude. Funny seeing you again.”

“It’s crazy that neighbors see each other.” Travis was delighted to note that his voice sounded the same even now that he was awake, a low mumble that probably sounded pretty wonderful in less innocent situations. Not that Travis was imagining him in less innocent situations.

Travis ignored the pointed dig and nodded at the board. “So, you skate?”

Patty gave him a look that clearly meant that he thought Travis was being a colossal idiot. Travis got the hint. “Sorry, dumb question. Can you do, like, a kickflip?”

Patty finally came to a stop in front of Travis and kicked his board up into his hands. Travis tried not to get distracted by how big his hands were. “This is a longboard,” he said.

“Is that a no?”

Patty didn’t answer--again--and Travis was starting to get the impression that he was just a bitch like this all the time. Not that that mattered, he was hot and Travis could pretty much find a way to get along with anyone, given enough time. And right now, it seemed like they had a lot of time.

“Will you walk around with me? Or something?”

Patty gave him a long, long, look, like he was considering whether or not to say no kindly or bitchily. It caught Travis by surprise when he said “yes” in that grumbly, deep voice. He turned and walked back to his house, leaving his skateboard--longboard--by the entrance to the garage. “Where do you want to go?” He asked as he came back to the street.

“I’m not really sure. Where’s your favorite place in the neighborhood?”

Patty smiled in a way that seemed like it was more to himself than Travis, and started walking. “It’s this way, but you can’t tell anyone about it. It’s pretty hidden.” If Travis was internally jumping for joy at the idea of being in a secret place, alone, with Patty, that was nobody’s business but his own. They walked for a while, along the main street until they broke off onto one of the smaller streets. Patty led them between two houses, a white one with an orange door and a yellow one with a black door. Travis took a mental note of where he was, just in case he ever decided to come on his own. Behind the houses, it looked mostly like forest, but Patty seemed confident that he was in the right place.

“You sure about this? You aren't going to murder me or something, right?” Travis asked as Patty led him down the line of trees.

“Chill, dude, just follow me.” Patty stopped in front of a small gap between the trees. “It’s down here.” He didn’t wait for Travis to follow, and slid between the branches. Past them, Travis noticed, was a small, worn down path through the woods. Either someone else had made the trail, or Patty came here a lot. Knowing Patty, it was probably the latter. Patty spoke then, as if he knew what Travis was thinking: “You’re the first person I’ve brought here.”

Travis didn’t say anything, not exactly sure how to feel.

Patty led on for a while in silence, before the trees opened up. Travis’ knees felt a little wobbly at the sight of the lake. It was almost perfectly still, mirroring the trees that surrounded it. The ducks with their tiny ducklings swimming near the far bank were unbothered by their presence, and the quiet sounds of birds and breeze and light ripples against the shore, it was all so picturesque. More like something out of a postcard, or a movie. It was so far from somewhere Travis expected to find in his own neighborhood, but it was exactly the sort of place that Patty would love. Travis turned to find Patty already looking at him. “Wow.” That was all he could say.

Patty smiled, a real, genuine one. “Yeah.” It was all he needed to say.

Travis let Patty lead him to the shore, followed his lead and took off his shoes. Together, they sat on the shoreline, letting the ripples lap gently at their feet. It was so quiet, calm. The opposite of everything that Travis had been feeling for the past several weeks.

It was Patty who broke the silence. “You like it?”

Travis turned so quickly he nearly lost his balance and slid into the water. “Like it? God, Pat, it’s incredible. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

"That was the first time I’ve seen you speechless.”

Travis laughed. “Yeah,” he agreed, “It’s pretty hard to make that happen.”

“I’ll bet it’s not that hard. If you know what you’re doing.”

“Oh, and take it you know what you’re doing?”

“Don’t I?”

Travis was starting to believe that maybe he did.

* * *

  
They went back many times. Sometimes in the morning, sometimes closer to sunset, always together. If either of their parents were worried about them being out every day, none of them had said anything. Travis’ mom seemed glad that he was out of the house and not pacing around making weird forts or finding some other strange outlet for his energy. It had started to get warmer out, and Patty assured him that they could start swimming in the lake soon--a month if they don’t mind getting a little cold.

They learned more about each other every day. Travis learned that Patty’s real name was Nolan, and promptly bullied him for having two last names, then bullied him harder for having three last names after learning that his middle name was James. Patty bullied Travis back for his “dumb” hats and his “hick accent”, but that’s not very insulting coming from a guy who actively chooses not to tie his own shoes. Patty picked Travis up and held him above the water when Travis told him as much. As soon as he had both feet back on land, he set to work erasing the feeling of being manhandled like that from his mind, because even if it was nice, Patty was probably straight, and Travis could live with that. Just bros, that was fun. Bros are nice. Travis flirted with Patty anyway, just to see that flush rise on his cheeks. He could have that much, he told himself, even if nothing was going to come out of it in the end.

They traded off playing music from their phones, Patty’s shitty indie to Travis’ shitty country and back again, razzing each other for their choices. Travis would never admit to it, but he had a secret “Patty” playlist that would never ever see the light of day. It was between Travis and his pillows.

They put more signs in the windows, mostly stupid shit. Patty had probably gotten tired of it a while ago, but he humored Travis anyway. That meant a lot. He was used to people getting weird as he got too comfortable, too close. They always wanted him to tone it down, but Patty had never asked that of him. He seemed just as lost and lonely as Travis had felt during those first days after they moved into the neighborhood. It was a little scary, still, to think that Patty might ditch him as soon as school started up--if school started up--but it felt like less of a possibility, now. They hadn’t gone a day in weeks without talking or at least hanging new signs in the windows. It was a little scary, getting so attached to someone who might just be hanging with him because there were no other options, but that hadn’t stopped Travis before, and it sure as hell wasn’t going to stop him now.

* * *

  
The weeks drew on, the routine of signs and lake and lying in the grass all stayed the same. Until something changed.

* * *

Travis went out to meet Patty for their walk, and Patty wasn’t there. It wasn’t an issue, really. Patty didn’t come out every day, and that was fine. Travis shrugged, headed back in, and got to work on the homework that he’d been putting off to hang out with Patty. It was high time he got caught up. After changing the sign in his window to say “u ok?”, he set to work.

Hours and several completed assignments later, Travis got up to check for a response. There wasn’t one. Even worse, Patty’s shade was down. Not that Travis often stared into Patty’s room, but the least he could hope for was a tiny peek through the window at Patty, shirtless in his room, like a stereotypical shot from a high school romcom. Today, though, nothing. He checked his phone to see if there was a text or call that he had somehow missed, but there wasn’t. Travis tried not to worry too much. Patty got like this sometimes--he’d told Travis about the migraines--so maybe this was one of those times. Travis really hoped that was all it was. The idea of Patty getting tired of him was a little too much for him to worry about.

He wasn’t in a productive mood anymore, so he switched on Netflix and found some home design show that Patty would like but never admit to liking. It made him feel marginally better.  
For the next two days, Travis couldn’t get anything out of Patty. No texts, no calls, no sign in the window. Travis wandered out to the lake on his own on the second day, as if Patty would somehow be there, waiting. It wasn’t a surprise when he wasn’t there, but it still hurt. Now that he was gone, it was increasingly obvious that Patty was the only person who had been filling that lonely hole in Travis’ chest. He felt listless now, lonely, bored, tired. Everything and nothing, confused. It hurt. He wasn’t sure what to do to make it go away.  
More days passed without Patty or the lake, and the feeling got worse. Travis couldn’t focus on his homework or the TV, he spent the days pacing around his house, rearranging his room, listening to his Patty playlist louder than he should. This was exactly what he had been scared of. He had pushed Patty away, somehow, and now he wasn’t sure what he could do to fix it. If he could fix it.

He leaned back in his chair after he realized he had been staring at one question for fifteen minutes without writing anything. When he looked out his window, the sign in the window across the grass caught his eye. “Lake?” was all that it said. The speed at which Travis got out of the house had to be a record somewhere. He got to the gap in the trees in record time, then froze. It suddenly hit how scared he was. He couldn’t back out now, though. Might as well go see what Patty wants. For better or for worse.

When he got to the lake, Patty was sitting on the bank, leaned back on his hands with his head tipped back, shoes next to him. He looked so peaceful. As Travis got closer, Patty opened his eyes, but didn’t say anything. Travis took off his own shoes and sat next to him, but kept his own feet out of the water. Patty sighed. “Sorry.”

“Yeah.” Travis said, resting his chin on his knee, looking out at the ducks, still peaceful on their own side of the lake. The ducklings had gotten so much bigger, when had that happened? Patty stayed quiet. On a normal day, Travis would be more than happy to fill the silence, but he couldn’t bring himself to say anything. He didn’t want to risk the fragile feeling of the moment breaking. Didn’t want to scare Patty off.

Patty spoke again, so he didn’t have to. “I’m, uh, not great at the whole feelings thing.”

“I figured. Sorry if it was me. I know I can be a little--much.”

Patty’s head whipped around. “What?”

“If I did--said?--something wrong. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. If that’s what happened.”

“No!” That was the loudest, most enunciated thing Travis had ever heard Patty say. “No,” he said, quieter, “It wasn’t you. I got scared, it wasn’t your fault.”

“Oh.”

“After what you said, the being swept off your feet thing--god, I’m messing this up, I’m so sorry.”

“Pat,” Travis said, “I’m so confused. What are you messing up?”

Patty put both his hands on his face and groaned. “This is so hard.”

The joke slipped out before Travis could stop himself: “You know what else is hard?”

And then Patty was grabbing his face. And then they were nose to nose. And then their lips were touching. And then Travis’ brain caught up, and he realized what this had been all about. He made a noise against Patty’s lips, and sank into the kiss, letting his eyes fall shut. He could feel Patty’s long fingers tangling in his hair. It was nice.

Patty pulled back after a little while. “Oh.” Travis said, a little shocked.

“Yeah.”

“So that’s what this was all about?”

“Yeah.”

Patty’s gaze had fallen down to the grass, where he picked at a clump of it. Travis grabbed his hand and twisted their fingers together. “How long have you wanted to do that?”

“Since you asked if I could do a kickflip on a longboard.”

“Huh.”

“So this is okay?”

“I could get used to it.” It was an understatement, and they both knew it.

Patty smiled, a big one. The kind that Travis worked for every single day of his life. “Huh,” he said, reaching for Travis’ face again. This time, Travis leaned in to meet him halfway. Yeah, this was something he could get used to.


End file.
